Go Outside
by cautiousAlbatross
Summary: John is bored. Really, really bored. (Note: previously removed (without warning) for "language above current rating". This has now been rectified and the rating has been changed.)


Your name is John Egbert, and you are bored out of your mind.

You flop over the back of the sofa and slide down until your back is resting on the seat and your legs are hooked over the back. You stare blankly at the upside-down television.

"Da-ave," you say, flailing about with one hand until you hit him.

He pushes your hand away and goes back to concentrating on his game. Even upside-down, it looks awful.

"Dave, I'm bored," you say, kicking your feet in the air.

"Shh. Go play outside. Quit bothering me."

"You're not my real mom."

You pout and swing your legs round onto the floor. Sighing, you stand up and go over to the door, open it slightly, and peer outside.

"Outside looks boring too," you say, shutting the door again.

Dave sighs heavily, and you hear him put down his controller and turn off the TV.

"All right, let's see how boring it is," he says, pulling the door open.

You both stare outside. You think it looks pretty boring.

"Okay," he says, "That's pretty boring."

You nod.

"But how about-" he steps outside "-Now."

You wrinkle your nose, confused.

"Come on," he says, grabbing your hand and pulling you outside too, "Let's go and not be bored."

You roll your eyes and follow him, pulling your hand out of his.

"Okay, what now?" you ask, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"We go and do things. Outside things."

You pull a face.

"Like what?"

He squints at the sky for a moment, thinking.

"I think there's a playground near by," he says, shrugging, "That's an outside thing."  
You hesitate, then agree.

Five minutes later, you're standing outside the empty playground, reading the sign that says only children under fourteen are allowed inside.

"No one's here," you say, and you think it looks eerily quiet.

Dave shrugs, and pushes open the gate.

"It's a hot day," he says, "And a weekday."

You hesitate before following him in. He heads straight for the swings and sits on one, his right arm coiled around the chain, swinging gently back and forth.

"So?" you say, sitting on the other swing.

"Knock yourself out," he says, shrugging.

You pause for a moment, then start swinging. Properly, unlike Dave. You're soon swinging high enough that you're nearly level with the top of the bar at the top of your swing. Grinning, you slow down a little, preparing to show off. At the peak of your swing, you let go, flying through the air. You're too busy concentrating on soaring to think about your landing, and when you notice the slide in front of you, it's too late. You land heavily, hitting your head on the metal end, and pass out.

The first thing you see when you wake up is a blurry image of Dave's face, hovering anxiously over you.

"John? Can you hear me?"

You make some vague groaning noises and lift your hand to your head. Feeling something wet, you lift your fingers and see they're covered in blood.

"Ow," you say, wincing.

Dave looks worried, his face unnaturally pale under the sunglasses. You notice his face is out of focus and you wonder what happened to your glasses.

"How does it look?" you ask, gingerly touching your forehead, "And where are my glasses?"

"Here," he says, holding them out.

The right lens is cracked, and the frame is bent, but you put them on anyway, seeing as you can barely see without them.

"And my head?" you ask, trying to feel more than just a lot of blood.

"Uh, there's a lot of blood. I'm not sure... You could have concussion."

He hesitates, then pulls off his shirt.

"Here," he says, handing it to you, "Use it to stop the bleeding."

"Thanks," you say, pressing it to your head and carefully sitting up.

He slips around behind you to prop you up, and readjusts the shirt.

"How long was I out?" you ask, trying to shift the shirt so it doesn't dislodge your glasses.

"Couple of minutes, maybe. I was scared shitless."

"Sorry," you say, sheepishly, "That was a pretty stupid thing to do, wasn't it?"

"Just a little."

You sit there for a moment in silence.

"Do you think you can walk?" he asks, "I think we should probably get you to the ER. Check whether you have concussion. Make sure it's not serious."

"I think so," you say, trying to push yourself up then stopping when your head throbs.

Eventually, you manage to get upright, and, leaning on Dave's shoulder, you walk slowly out of the playground.

You don't really pay attention in the ER - your head is hurting too much for you to concentrate. You get four stitches, and you're told you don't have concussion, somehow. You walk out of the ER with a snazzy white bandage around your head and a hell of a lot of painkillers in your system. Dave keeps giving you concerned looks, and you have to give him a reassuring smile every so often. Finally, you arrive home, and collapse on the sofa.

"I'm never going outside again," you say, feeling awful.

You close your eyes and lean your head back, then feel Dave sit down next to you.

"You can't blame outside," he says, and you bet he's rolling his eyes.

You snort. He waits for a moment before continuing.

"How do you feel?" he asks, sounding concerned.

"Terrible."

You pause.

"Sorry," you add.

"What for?"

"Making you worried," and you continue over his protests, "I could see you were worried. It was really obvious."  
You hesitate for a moment.

"Thanks."

You open your eyes in time to see him smile, and notice he's taken off his shades. For some reason, that reminds you that you need to get new glasses. You think you'll leave it for now.

"Well... Don't do it again, okay?" he says, brushing your hair back with one hand.

"I won't," you promise, and he leans in closer, slipping his hand behind your head.

"I don't want to lose you," he whispers.

He kisses you, and you're not sure if it's Dave or the drugs, but suddenly you feel like you're floating on a cloud of euphoria.

"You won't," you whisper as he pulls away, and you pull him back into another kiss.

You think you might never go outside again, if it means you can stay here with Dave forever.


End file.
